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Travel Inspire young minds with these winter getaways. Paid Content A yearning to return. Travel How to travel the world—by radio. Travel Lessons from nature for young autistic travelers. Travel This sacred valley could become the next national monument. The number of extreme weather events that are among the most unusual in the historical record, according to the CEI, has been rising over the last four decades. Scientists project that extreme weather events, such as heat waves, droughts, blizzards and rainstorms will continue to occur more often and with greater intensity due to global warming, according to Climate Central.
Climate models forecast that global warming will cause climate patterns worldwide to experience significant changes. These changes will likely include major shifts in wind patterns, annual precipitation and seasonal temperatures variations. In addition, because high levels of greenhouse gases are likely to remain in the atmosphere for many years, these changes are expected to last for several decades or longer, according to the U. In the northeastern United States, for example, climate change is likely to bring increased annual rainfall, while in the Pacific Northwest, summer rainfall is expected to decrease, the EPA said.
One of the primary manifestations of climate change so far is melt. North America, Europe and Asia have all seen a trend toward less snow cover between and , according to research published in the journal Current Climate Change Reports. According to the National Snow and Ice Data Center, there is now 10 percent less permafrost , or permanently frozen ground, in the Northern Hemisphere than there was in the early s.
The thawing of permafrost can cause landslides and other sudden land collapses. It can also release long-buried microbes, as in a case when a cache of buried reindeer carcasses thawed and caused an outbreak of anthrax. One of the most dramatic effects of global warming is the reduction in Arctic sea ice.
Sea ice hit record-low extents in both the fall and winter of and , meaning that at the time when the ice is supposed to be at its peak, it was lagging. The melt means there is less thick sea ice that persists for multiple years. That means less heat is reflected back into the atmosphere by the shiny surface of the ice and more is absorbed by the comparatively darker ocean, creating a feedback loop that causes even more melt, according to NASA's Operation IceBridge.
Glacial retreat , too, is an obvious effect of global warming. Only 25 glaciers bigger than 25 acres are now found in Montana's Glacier National Park, where about glaciers were once found, according to the U. Geological Survey. A similar trend is seen in glacial areas worldwide.
According to a study in the journal Nature Geoscience, there is a 99 percent likelihood that this rapid retreat is due to human-caused climate change. Some glaciers retreated up to 15 times as much as they would have without global warming, those researchers found. In general, as ice melts, sea levels rise.
Decreased water availability will have economic and environmental impacts. Extreme heat, heavy downpours and flooding will affect infrastructure, health, agriculture, forestry, transportation, air and water quality, and more. Climate change will also exacerbate a range of risks to the Great Lakes. Increased heat, drought and insect outbreaks, all linked to climate change, have increased wildfires.
Declining water supplies, reduced agricultural yields, health impacts in cities due to heat, and flooding and erosion in coastal areas are additional concerns. Taken as a whole, the range of published evidence indicates that the net damage costs of climate change are likely to be significant and to increase over time. An indicator of current global sea level as measured by satellites; updated monthly.
GISS climate models. Climate Time Machine. Video: Global warming from to NASA visualization of future global temperature projections based on current climate models. Visualization comparing s and s. NASA visualizations of future precipitation scenarios. Precipitation Measurement Missions. Precipitation quiz. West projected to be worst of millennium. Sea level quiz.
Test your knowledge of sea level rise and its effect on global populations. The Arctic Ocean is expected to become essentially ice free in summer before mid-century. A warmer climate creates an atmosphere that can collect, retain, and drop more water, changing weather patterns in such a way that wet areas become wetter and dry areas drier.
The increasing number of droughts, intense storms, and floods we're seeing as our warming atmosphere holds—and then dumps—more moisture poses risks to public health and safety, too. Prolonged dry spells mean more than just scorched lawns. Drought conditions jeopardize access to clean drinking water, fuel out-of-control wildfires, and result in dust storms, extreme heat events, and flash flooding in the States.
Elsewhere around the world, lack of water is a leading cause of death and serious disease. At the opposite end of the spectrum, heavier rains cause streams, rivers, and lakes to overflow, which damages life and property, contaminates drinking water, creates hazardous-material spills, and promotes mold infestation and unhealthy air. A warmer, wetter world is also a boon for food-borne and waterborne illnesses and disease-carrying insects such as mosquitoes, fleas, and ticks.
Today's scientists point to climate change as "the biggest global health threat of the 21st century. As temperatures spike, so does the incidence of illness, emergency room visits, and death. One or two days isn't a big deal. But four days straight where temperatures don't go down, even at night, leads to severe health consequences. Indeed, extreme heat kills more Americans each year, on average, than hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, and lightning combined.
Rising temperatures also worsen air pollution by increasing ground level ozone, which is created when pollution from cars, factories, and other sources react to sunlight and heat. Ground-level ozone is the main component of smog, and the hotter things get, the more of it we have.
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